Oil prices jump amid Egypt unrest

Oil prices surpassed $100 a barrel on Wednesday as protesters continued to occupy the streets of Cairo calling on President Mohammed Morsi’s resignation.

The price of a barrel in the US reached $102.18 – the highest it’s been in over a year, CNN Money reports.

Investors fear that the deadly unrest in Egypt could spread across the Middle East and restrict the region’s oil exports which pass through the Suez Canal and pipeline.

“The turmoil in Egypt has caused the market to inject some premium into oil futures,” Victor Shum a vice president at IHS Energy Insights, told the BBC.

Creative Commons image by: Generation Bass